Crucifixion
'Crucifixion' is the work that first launched Bacon into the public eye, long before the much greater successes of the post-war years. The painting may have been inspired by Rembrandt's [url=https://www.wikiart.org/en/rembrandt/the-carcass-of-an-ox-1657">Slaughtered Ox (c.1638), but also by Picasso's Surrealist style (perhaps sensing this latter connection, Herbert Read, in his book Art Now, illustrated 'Crucifixion' adjacent to a Picasso's [url=https://www.wikiart.org/en/pablo-picasso/bather-with-beach-ball-1932">Bather). The translucent whiteness painted over the bodily frame in 'Crucifixion' adds a ghostly touch to an already unsettling composition, introducing Bacon's obsession with pain and fear. Exhibited at a time when the horrors of the First World War were still remembered, 'Crucifixion' spoke of how brutality had changed the world forever. At the time of writing the picture is owned by [url=https://www.wikiart.org/en/damien-hirst">Damien Hirst, an artist who has acknowledged a large debt to Bacon.
